Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Richardson Comes Off My "On Notice" Board

Richardson no longer has a place on my "On Notice" board. This is what triggered my change of heart:

This evening, the Richardson City Council authorized a purchase/sale agreement and an economic development agreement clearing the way for acquisition of nearly 60 acres of land from Galatyn Properties Ltd. consisting of members of the Margaret Hunt Hill family. Acquisition of the four parcels, which adjoin the existing Spring Creek Nature Area, will enable the City to more than double the nature area’s current size.

Well done, Richardson. One hundred years from now, this acquisition will be looked back upon as the most significant action taken by Richardson in the early 21st century. That's just how valuable this large piece of heavily-wooded, undeveloped land in the middle of a growing urban area will be. With this move, Richardson comes down off my "On Notice" board.

After the jump, a look back at my love affair with the Spring Creek Nature Area.

Wow, before putting that list together, I hadn't realized just how often I lobbied for expansion of the Spring Creek Nature Area, always thinking my goal was quixotic. In future, the Spring Creek Nature Area will still be on my mind, but no longer on my worry list.

1 comment:

One Councilmember called the proposed Spring Creek Nature area "Richardson's Central Park", so I did some wild, off-the-cuff calculations last night after the vote.

If I'm right, this new park will represent twice as much space per Richardson resident as Central Park does for Manhattan residents (something like 108 acres for 100,000 people in Richardson versus 843 acres for 1.6 million people in Manhattan).

"One hundred years from now, this acquisition will be looked back upon as the most significant action taken by Richardson in the early 21st century." Yep, no matter what it costs now, I have to agree that future Richardson residents will fall all over themselves complimenting this deal...